Sketch
by TheTrainTicket
Summary: It wasn't "compassion" exactly – he just seemed to understand.  Her attachment to people was the same as his attachment to toys.  She was just venting out to him, and even if he couldn't relate, he understood it.


Sketch

"_Near, you in there? Near, sweetie?"_

_He perked up a bit. He told her to come in when she knocked on his door. She walked in with a bright smile – a usual sight._

"_Hey there!"_

"_Hi, Misa." He set down his piece of paper, which caught her attention._

"_Oh? Watch you got there?"_

"_It's nothing important…"_

"_I didn't know you could draw! Well, I guess that shouldn't surprise me, though, heheh…" She cleared her throat. "I draw too, ya know! Not too much, but it's fun. Maybe we can draw together sometime, or…?"_

_She leaned over his shoulder. He tried, for a second, to conceal what he was doing. Then he realized it was pointless – Misa wasn't going to stop until she got her way. He pressed his back against the chair, allowing her a clear view._

"_It's pretty!" She exclaimed. "Is this a place you used to go to?"_

"_Yeah, when my family was still around. We would go to this park and I would always ride on that red swing – " he pointed._

"_Oh, Near…"_

"_It's for you."_

"_What?"_

"_Christmas is next week. This was going to be your present. Still is, but I could always do something else…"_

"_That's so sweet of you!" She wrapped her arms around him. He bit his bottom lip. "Heh, I'm sorry I was so curious! I'll still act surprised on Christmas, though!" _

_She let go and gave him another warm smile and winked. Then suddenly, she gasped. "Oh my gosh, I still need to get you something!"_

"_You don't need to."_

"_But you went and made me something so sweet and personal! Oh, I don't think I can buy you anything you don't already have…" she started to giggle._

"_What's so funny?"_

"_I was just picturing going out and shopping for you! Looking through all the toy aisles – it'd be like being a kid again!"_

_She giggled at her fantasy for a bit longer. He smiled a bit. It was kind of cute how enthusiastic she got over things like this. That was Misa._

"_Well," she said finally. "I'll be off! It's going to be something very special, I promise! No peaki- well, maybe I'll let you peak!"_

ooo

He still wasn't back.

She lay down in bed, yet again, wondering – when?

How long had it been since she had last seen him? Over a year, at least by now…

_Near… _

Why did he go? Why did he leave her? How many loved ones would leave her?

She should've known better than to have gotten involved with him in the first place. She had just been so broken after Light had died, she… she didn't know. Near wasn't exactly, well, _friendly_ – in fact, it had taken her a while to get him to open up.

Misa, on the other hand, had spilt her guts to him rather easily. She had just wanted a listening ear to be there for her, even for only a bit, so she could let out all her emotional baggage.

But Near hadn't… turned her away. He seemed to understand, at least when she mentioned her parents. He also didn't seem to mind the attention, Misa could tell, even though he tried to hide it.

It wasn't "compassion" exactly – he just seemed to understand. Her attachment to people was the same as his attachment to toys. She was just venting out to him, and even if he couldn't relate, he understood it.

She cried to the Task Members when it was over. She cried to the remaining members of the Yagami family. They were all there for her. Near, on the other hand, had no intention of befriending this woman. He merely approached her to be sure for himself that she was no longer dangerous.

ooo

Then he just got used to her. She hadn't stopped coming, even though she stopped crying. She had just become part of his regular routine. It was nice to have someone there to see him because of him, not because he was L.

Near still hadn't told her he was the new L, or even that Light was Kira. He kept the first one a secret because he simply because the less people to know L's true identity, the better. The other… he just knew she wouldn't be able to handle it.

Or the fact that she was the second Kira.

The whole reason she wasn't in jail or executed _was_ because she had lost her memory. No need to see her as a threat anymore.

All he told her was that he had been the head of the SPK. Since she had forgotten that Light was Kira, she just assumed that Near and Light were on the same side. She just accepted the fact that Near and his team worked secretly from the other Task Forces, it never seemed to cross her mind who Near really was. It was probably because no matter the circumstance, she always thought of him as a kid.

That was one aspect of her Near didn't particularly care for. Even during their first interview, Misa didn't seem to take him seriously. After he had confirmed she no longer knew anything about Kira or the Death Note, Near had intended on never seeing her again.

But it didn't matter.

The two of them were too opposite. Near was the type to shut his door to everyone – and Misa would be there to pry it open. That's why she was still here. It was just in her nature. And Near understood that.

ooo

But now, Misa was lying down on her bed, looking up at the ceiling – bored. Maybe she could convince Matsuda to go see a movie with her or something. Though that may give him the wrong impression – he was starting to develop a crush on her. He was a nice enough guy, but… after Light, and now Near – she just couldn't handle it again.

She sighed and turned over. Misa reached into her drawers and pulled out something.

It was a sketch. Of a field. With a red swing in the middle.

Tears started to trickle down her face as she continued to look at it, examining every detail. It wasn't a Japanese park, she could tell. She had no idea where it was from. But maybe, sometime, she could try and find it. Use the Internet, talk to someone, find out where this park was – she had nothing better to do with her time.

Misa set it down on her nightstand and went back to staring at the ceiling for a bit before finally getting up. She hadn't eaten since… yesterday night? Almost twenty hours ago… maybe she still had something frozen that she could heat up for dinner.

She made her way downstairs. Rubbing her forehead, Misa made a mistake and walked into her living room instead of kitchen. She gasped when she put her hand down.

"_Near_?" She exclaimed.

The white-haired kid looked up at her, almost shyly, but he kept his expression blank.

A million questions came to her mind. One of them being "how did you get in here?" but instead she blurted out:

"Where have you been?"

Near reached up and started twirling a lock of his hair. He kept his gaze off her eyes.

"I had to go." He stated simply.

"What'd you _mean_ you 'had to go'?"

"I work with the police, Misa. Sometimes I get assigned to special cases. You know that."

"Yeah, but none of the other guys left! Matsu, Mogi and all them… they've been right here! And they didn't know _anything_!"

"This was a case that only I could do, Misa."

She huffed.

"You're not happy to see me?" Even Near couldn't hide the slight hurt in his voice.

She pouted a little. "No, it's not that… I…" the tears came back. "I thought you had left me! I thought I lost another person I care about! That you… hated me so much, or that you… might be dead…"

Misa hugged him. Tightly. She hugged him as if she were never planning to let go. He leaned into her, letting her hug him. He eventually wrapped his arms loosely around her, as well.

Finally the two pulled away.

She wiped away her tears. "So… why didn't you tell me you were leaving?"

Near looked down at his knees. "I'm not allowed to give out that kind of information, Misa. You should know that, too."

"You could've at least told me what you just did! That you were leaving for a case!"

Silence.

"I didn't know if I would be coming back or not… I thought that coming here and telling you that would just make you worry."

"But Near, I _was_ worried, for an entire _year_!"

"Yes, but your first assumption was that I hated you, and didn't want to see you again. Isn't that better than thinking I was dead?"

Against all odds, Misa found herself snickering. Bitterly, but still…

"Near, you are so awkward…" She said, mostly to herself. "No, I… I'm not sure that was any better."

"Well, I'm here now. So if you want to keep coming by like you used to, that would be alright."

"I'd like that."

"But now you know – " he paused. "I might have to leave again, someday. And I might not come back."

She nodded. "But next time… please tell me good-bye."

"I'll remember to."

The two sat silently for a bit. Then Misa's stomach growled. She blushed.

"Heh… do you want anything?" She offered, clutching her gut.

"No thank you."

"OK, then I'll just wait a bit."

"If you're hungry, you should eat something."

"Oh, but it's rude to eat in front of a guest!"

"I won't be around much longer, they need me back at headquarters."

Misa blinked. Did he really have to leave so soon? All this time, and they had barely begun to talk! But he _did_ say she could stop by… and if he "needed" to go back, then he _needed_to go back.

"Well, before you go, there is something I wanna show you – " before either of them could say another word, she took off, up to her room. When she came back down, she had that paper with her.

"See?" She asked, holding it out to him. "I've kept it all this time!"

He took it from her.

"It… got me through a lot. I would look at it, and it would remind me of you…"

Near took both corners into his hands, and ripped the sketch in two.

Misa shrieked.

"Near! W-why did you do that?"

He looked at her and simply stated: "Because you don't need it anymore."


End file.
